Flame treating apparatus



Aug. 7, 1962 K. o. BURKE ETAL FLAME TREATING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 16, 1960 INVENTORS ACO. BI/EKE KIC'HflKD SCHAFEZZ flTTOKNEYS 1962 K. o. BURKE ETAL 3,048,380

FLAME TREATING APPARATUS Filed Aug. 16, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS K0. BURKE Ric/ A1211 JCIMFER J {404 64 M I fuya/nd 19 T TORNFY 5 United States Patent 3,048,380 FLAME TREATING APPARATUS Kenneth O. Burke and Richard G. Schafer, San Leandro, Califl, assiguors to Owens-Illinois Glass Company, a corporation of Ohio Filed Aug. 16, 1960, Ser. No. 49,923 6 Claims. (Cl. 263-2) This invention relates generally to flame treating apparatus, and more particularly to apparatus for flame treating plastic containers which are substantially symmetrical about a central axis.

It has been found desirable to flame treat the exterior surfaces of plastic containers so as to alter their surface characteristics to allow adhesive and printing inks to more readily adhere thereto. It is known that the most desirable way to flame treat articles which are generally symmetrical about a central axis is to pass the articles axially through the center of a ring of high intensity gas flames. The problem has been how to accurately guide the articles through this ring, at the desired rate of speed, without the guide means becoming overheated, and melting or otherwise adversely affecting the articles. An other problem has been how to guide and deliver the treated containers in an upright position for subsequent operations.

Accordingly, it is an object of our invention to provide apparatus for accurately passing plastic containers axially through a ring of high intensity gas flames to flame treat their exterior surfaces.

Another object is to provide simple, inexpensive, high speed apparatus for uniformly flame treating the exterior surfaces of plastic containers.

-A further object of our invention is to provide simple, inexpensive apparatus for flame treating plastic containers and delivering the containers in an upright position.

The specific nature of this invention, as well as other objects andadvantages thereof, will become apparent to those skilled in the 'art'from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the annexed sheets of drawings, on which, by way of example only, the preferred embodiment of this invention is illustrated.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the flame treating apparatus of our invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the flame treating apparatus;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3--3 of FIG. 1, showing a plastic container in place on two V-belt conveyors;

FIG. 4 is a view taken along the line 44 of FIG. 1, showing the manifold assembly which provides the ring of high intensity gas flames; and

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of FIG. 1, showing a plastic container suspended upright between the uprighting rollers.

Briefly, plastic containers 10, which may be formed of polystyrene or like material and may be in the form of a truncated cone with the lower, closed end having the minor diameter are delivered by a conventional disc-type unscrambler 11 closed end foremost to guide rails 12. The guide rails 12, which comprise a plurality of wires arranged to form a tube, guide and deposit containers on two inclined, V-belt conveyors C and C which convey the containers upwardly and eject them so that they move freely along an arcuate path or trajectory. Positioned normal and concentric to a portion of the arcuate path is a manifold assembly 40 which is adapted to provide a continuous ring of high intensity gas flames for flame treating the exterior surfaces of the containers 10. After passing through the ring of high intensity gas flames, the containers 10 are received by a cone-shaped guide 50 which directs them to inclined rotating uprighting rollers 45 and 46. The uprighting rollers 45 and 46 upright the containers and deposit them in a normal upright position on the endles conveyor 60 which conveys the flame treated containers 10 to any desired subsequent operation (not shown).

Referring to FIG. 1, the flame treating apparatus is supported by two vertical supports 13 and 14 which are of unequal height. A V-shaped member 15 is secured to the upper ends of the vertical support members 13 and 14 and forms the main support for the V-belt conveyors C and C. The conveyors C and C comprise take-up pulleys 16 and 17, drive pulleys 18 and 19, and V-belts 20 and 21, respectively. Referring to FIG. 3, the takeup pulleys 16 and 17 are attached to shafts 22. and 23 which are journaled in bearing blocks 24 and bearings 25 which are rigidly secured by means of support brackets 26 and 27, respectively, to the V-shaped member 15. The take-up pulleys 16 and 17 are adapted to support a container 10 between them when the V-belts 20 and 21 are in place.

The drive pulleys 118 and 19 are secured to drive shafts 28 and 29 which are rotatably mounted in the same manner as the take-up pulley shafts '22 and 2,3. The V- belts 20 and 21 are trained around the take-up and drive pulleys to complete the conveyors. As thus described, the upper reaches of the belts define a trough for supporting and conveying containers therebetween. Conventional means (only partly shown), which include a drive belt 30 and an electric motor 31, are provided for driving the V-belts '20 and 21 in unison. The two conveyors C and C, as thus arranged, form a V- shaped valley or channel for guiding and conveying the containers upwardly along an inclined path.

The manifold assembly 40,- which provides a continuous ring of high intensity gas. flame, comprises a closed, hexagonal shaped manifold 41 which has six radially inwardly directed burners 42, An air-gas fuel mixture under pressure is supplied to the manifold 41 through a supply tube 43 and venturi mixer 44, and is regulated by conventional means (not shown) to give the desired size and intensity of flame. The manifold 41 is supported by an adjustable bracket 48 and a rod member 47. The adjustable bracket 48 is secured to the V-shaped member 15 and is adapted to receive and rigidly support the support arm 47 which is secured to the manifold. Thus, the manifold may be positioned normal and concentric to the path taken by containers after they leave the conveyors.

A cone-shaped guide chute 50 having a receiving end 51 and discharge end 52 receives the containers 10 after they have been flame treated and directs them to the uprighting rollers 45 and 46, which are spaced apart so as to support the containers and allow their lower portions depend there between. It is to be understood of course that where desired the rollers may be spaced apart in diverging relationship so as to allow the lower portions to depend gradually. The receiving ends of the rollers are spaced sufficiently close so as to support a container there between. The forward or discharge ends of the rollers are spaced so as to support a container in a depending relationship. See FIG. 5. The uprighting rollers are oppositely rotated by means of spur gears 53 which are axially aflixed to their receiving ends, and a gear train 54 which is driven by means of an electric motor 55. The uprighting rollers rotate in an upward direction so as to jiggle the containers in a forward direction until they are deposited on the horizontal, endless conveyor in an upright position.

In operation, containers 10 are received from the disctype Unscramble 11 in a small diameter, closed end foremost position and are deposited on the V-belt conveyors C and C by means of the guide rails 12. The conveyors C and C convey the containers upwardly and eject them along a predetermined arcuate path or trajectory. The lineal speed of the belts of the conveyors may be varied to determine the path taken by the containers. After being ejected by the conveyors, the containers move along the arcuate path in free flight through the ring of high intensity gas flames which is positioned normal and concentric to a portion of the arcuate path. It is to be noted that since the belts 20 and 21 are continually moving, they do not become overheated because of their proximity to the circular ring of high intensity gas flames. After passing through the manifold 41, the flame treated containers are received by the cone-shaped guide chute 50 which directs them to the receiving end of the uprighting rollers 45 and 46. The uprighting rollers 45 and 46 are oppositely rotated to jiggle the containers downwardly into a depending or upright position onto the endless conveyor 60, which conveys them to any desired subsequent operation.

It will, of course, be understood that various details of construction may be modified through a Wide range without departing from the principles of this invention, and it is not, therefore, the purpose to limit the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. Flame treating apparatus for flame treating the exterior surfaces of plastic containers, comprising two parallel, inclined endless belt conveyors, said conveyors transversely inclined relative to each other so as to provide a channel-like guide to support a container between the upper reaches of their belts, means for driving said conveyors in unison so as to convey said containers upwardly and eject the containers along an arcuate path, flame treating means near the upper end of the guide providing a circular ring of high intensity gas flames positioned concentric and normal to a portion of said arcuate path, whereby said containers are flame treated as they move along said path, and means for receiving and uprighting said containers after they have been flame treated.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1, wherein said last mentioned means comprise a pair of oppositely rotatable uprighting rollers positioned forward of said flame treating means, said rollers also being spaced apart and adapted to receive and support said flame treated containers there between in depending relationship, and guide means for directing flame treated containers from said path to said rollers.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 2, wherein said guide means comprise a rigidly mounted, hollow truncated cone having its major diameter end located adjacent said flame treating means.

4. Apparatus for flame treating plastic containers of generally frusto-conical form, comprising two parallel, upwardly inclined endless belt conveyors arranged to convey said containers in a recumbent position, means for driving said conveyors in unison so as to convey said containers upwardy and eject said containers along a pre-- determined trajectory, means for providing a circular ring of high intensity gas flames positioned normal and concentric to a portion of the trajectory of the containers, whereby said containers are flame treated as they move along said trajectory, means for uprighting said containers after they have been flame treated, said last mentioned means including two oppositely spinning rollers, spaced apart so as to support the containers adjacent the major diameter end and allow the minor diameter end of the containers to depend between the rollers, whereby the containers will under the influence of gravity assume an upright position as they advance along said rollers, and means for guiding flame treated containers from said trajectory to said rollers.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 4, wherein said guide means comprise a hollow cone-shaped guide.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 4, wherein said flame treating means includes a ring-like manifold having a plurality of radially inwardly directed burners.

References Cited in thefile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,583,764 Buckholdt Jan. 29, 1952 2,648,097 Kritchever Aug. 11, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,143,776 France Apr. 15, 1957 

